HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — Camden Clark struck out 15 batters over seven innings and Southern Mississippi defeated Louisiana-Monroe 3-1 on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in the first game of a Sun Belt doubleheader at Pete Taylor Park.

Clark allowed three hits and one earned run, walking none, to improve the Golden Eagles’ record to 33-14. The Warhawks fell to 24-23. The game featured a pitchers’ duel between Clark and Louisiana-Monroe starter Brandt Corley, who held Southern Mississippi hitless through 5 2/3 innings but exited with an injury after allowing two runs, one earned, with six strikeouts.

Louisiana-Monroe struck first in the top of the second inning. Marcus Aranda launched a solo home run to left field, his 12th of the season, to give the Warhawks a 1-0 lead. That was the only run Southern Mississippi starting pitcher Camden Clark allowed.

Southern Mississippi answered in the bottom of the third. After walks to Odom and Long, a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Joey Urban grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Odom and tied the game at 1-1, with Long thrown out trying to advance to third.

The Golden Eagles took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Gillespie singled to left field and advanced to second on a groundout. Ben Higdon then doubled to right field, driving in Gillespie to put Southern Mississippi ahead 2-1. Higdon finished the game 1 for 2 with a run batted in.

Corley departed with an injury after facing Matthew Russo in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Robinson relieved and threw 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing no hits and striking out none, but the Warhawks could not overcome the deficit.

Southern Mississippi added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Higdon walked, stole second and third, and then scored on a fielder’s choice hit to first base by Odom. The throw home from Warhawks catcher Marcus Aranda was errant, allowing Higdon to score on the unearned run as Odom advanced to second. Southern Mississippi led 3-1.

The Warhawks threatened in the top of the eighth after Josh Och relieved Clark. With one out, Dean singled to center field, but Och struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Och finished with two innings pitched, two hits allowed and four strikeouts.

Louisiana-Monroe managed only five hits in the game. Aranda’s home run was the only extra-base hit for the Warhawks, who struck out 17 times as a team. Wiethorn doubled in the third inning but was left stranded. Dupont had two hits, singling in the seventh and ninth innings.

Southern Mississippi’s four hits were spread across four batters. Smith had an infield single in the first, Gillespie singled in the fourth and again in the eighth, and Higdon doubled. Urban drove in the game-tying run with a fielder’s choice in the third. The Golden Eagles’ defense turned a double play in the seventh to end a potential rally.

The pivotal moment of the game came in the bottom of the fourth when Higdon’s RBI double broke a 1-1 tie and gave Southern Mississippi a lead it would not relinquish. Combined with Clark’s dominant strikeout performance, the Golden Eagles controlled the game’s tempo from that point forward.

The game was the first of a scheduled doubleheader between the Sun Belt opponents. The two teams were scheduled to meet again Sunday, May 3, to close the series.

Interstat’s ELO system had projected Southern Mississippi with an 83.40 percent probability to win the game.